Socks And Daggers
by AstridHofferson43
Summary: "There's no story, why does there have to be a story? ...Fine, but I was only nine, so you can't make fun of me..." Trolls. They steal your socks. And you should never, ever trust a deranged child with knives. (Begins during ROB)
1. Chapter 1

"17 scars!" said Snotlout. "17 scars, and that's only on my left leg! Which is more than Hiccup can say." He shot a smug look over at Hiccup, who in turn looked down at what was left of his leg.

"Well," Hiccup lifted up his peg leg, "this is kind of my leg now, so…" He began counting all the nicks and scratches on the metal.

"Shut up, Hiccup," grumbled Snotlout.

The young Vikings were all sitting around the fire in the Great Hall, and, at the twins' request, had spent the last five minutes counting scars. So far, Tuffnut was in the lead with 84, and his twin was in close second with 80. Snotlout came third with 77, then Astrid with 69, and then there was Fishlegs, who came in dead last with a whopping 12 scars.

Hiccup still didn't understand why it was so cool to have scars, so he hadn't really been participating until now, just to be funny.

"Come on, Hiccup," said Astrid. "How many scars do you really have?"

"You know what," said Hiccup, "a scar is just something left to remind you of blood and pain. I mean, there's nothing that makes me think 'fun' or 'awesome' when Astrid punches me."

Astrid punched his arm.

"OW! You see? He pulled up his sleeve to reveal numerous bruises (mostly from Astrid) and… a scar, one that went all the way from his elbow to just below his shoulder.

"Whoa," said Astrid.

"None of mine are that good!" whined Ruffnut.

"I want that," Tuff gasped.

Snotlout just grunted.

"What did that?" asked Fishlegs.

"Dagger," Hiccup answered simply.

"Who threw it?" asked Astrid.

"Dagur," said Hiccup.

"Yeah," said Snotlout, "but who threw the dagger?"

"I told you, Dagur! Do you remember that kid, red hair, he was kind of, um…"

"Oh for Thor's sake, Hiccup," Astrid cut him off. "Stop trying to be so nice. You know, that little Loki-spawn who burned down the Great Hall."

"Which Great Hall?" asked Tuffnut.

"You know, the one one we're inside of. Right now." Hiccup said.

"Ohhhhh," Tuff nodded knowingly. "This Great Hall."

"Of course," snapped Snotlout. "There's only one Great Hall, muttonhead."

"Okay," said Astrid. "So how'd it happen?"

"Um, he threw it." Hiccup looked blank.

"Well obviously," Snotlout sneered, "but what were the events that led up to it?"

"Yeah!" the others chimed in. The twins began chanting, "Story, story, story…"

"There's no story," said Hiccup defensively. "Why does there have to be a story?"

Astrid spoke up. "Okay, guys, if Hiccup doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't have to."

"Thank you, Astrid." Hiccup stood up to leave. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go do…stuff." But Astrid jumped up and blocked his way. "Oh come on, Astrid! I thought you were on my side!"

"What? You didn't really think I would want to pass up a good story, did you?" Astrid smugly replied.

"Toothless, back me up here, bud."

The Night Fury, who'd been sleeping, walked over to Hiccup and flopped down on top of his rider, knocking him to the ground.

"Oof! Thanks a lot, Toothless."

Toothless gurgled a dragon laugh, and let Hiccup stand up, but only to find himself being shoved back into his seat by Snotlout.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Astrid urged.

Hiccup looked around at the group, all of which were staring expectantly at him, except for the twins, who were making puppy dog eyes. "Fine." He saw that he wasn't going to get out of it, and smiled slightly. "But I was only nine, so you can't make fun of me…"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Thanks to Anonymous Noob the 2nd, JEM48893, midnightsky0612, kimmadewdrop, and Guest for reviewing, to everyone who followed and favorited, and the 70+ people who've taken time to read this! You guys make my day! :)**

Hiccup sat leaning against a tree, trying his best to not doze off while he waited to catch something in his troll trap. He was almost out of socks, and he was determined to catch one of those pesky trolls tonight. He'd been sitting there for three solid hours, and it was probably around midnight by now.

Suddenly the mechanism tripped, and he heard something like a muffled scream. Hiccup rushed out of his hiding place dragging a mace nearly as big as he was over to the trap, and inside he found… not a troll. "A dragon?"

It had an ugly, almost human face, with a horn that resembled a somewhat hooked human nose. Just above the nose on its forehead was a strange red lightning-bolt shaped marking. Its scales were dark, but the wings were shiny and metallic, folded on its back like a cape. It stood on its hind legs, and was slightly smaller than a Terrible Terror.

But before Hiccup could see any more of it, it sprayed gas in his face, which got in his eyes and burned like crazy. Hiccup screamed and jumped back, tripping and kicking over his trap, and releasing the small dragon, who darted back into the forest. Hiccup rubbed his eyes and tried to open them, but everything was pitch black. He'd gone blind.

After about thirty seconds of yelling for help, his vision began returning, although everything was still blurry. It took him another hour to get home, as his blurred vision and the starlit darkness made it difficult to see where he was going, and he kept crashing into trees, but eventually he got back, and managed to sneak upstairs to bed.

The next morning, when he tried to tell people what he'd seen, they only laughed, and told him he was crazy.

"A tiny dragon who steals socks?"

"The boy's gone daft."

"Everyone knows it's the trolls that steal socks."

So Hiccup swore to himself that he'd find the dragon and kill it, then bring it back as proof.

* * *

"You're not getting away this time!" Two weeks later, Hiccup was hot on the trail of the Socktroll. He was so close now! He could almost touch it!

And then, he tripped and fell, but never hit the ground. Instead he flew into the air, and found himself caught in a dragon trap, dangling upside down twenty feet from the forest floor. Hiccup tried to wiggle himself free, but it was no use. "Help!" he yelled, but he knew he was too deep in the forest for anyone to hear him.

Hiccup looked around for anything he could use to get down, when he saw a small dark streak race up the tree and disappear, then it was baring its teeth, slowly advancing down the ropes that held him. "Agh!" Hiccup screamed, and struggled harder, but that only agitated the Socktroll, and it began spraying its gas. Hiccup shielded his eyes with his free hand and felt the dragon bite his boot, and then another came out of nowhere and tore the boot off his other foot. The first Socktroll stopped struggling with his right boot and yanked the sock off his left foot, and both dragons were gone. Just like that.

At first Hiccup thought his toes were gone, but once he realized they were still intact, he was confused. Dragons were bloodthirsty attackers. Why did they only take his shoe and sock, and not his whole foot?

* * *

"Hiccup!" Stoick called his son for what must have been the hundredth time.

Gobber came running, out of breath. "Stoick, I've been all over the village. No one's seen 'im."

Stoick groaned. "Then search the forest, he's probably gone hunting for trolls again."

"Aye, Stoick." Gobber gave a mock salute with his hook, and started off in the direction of the forest with two other men.

"What am I going to do with that boy," Stoick sighed, and turned away.

* * *

As it happened, "that boy" was still dangling upside down from a tree with his bare foot sticking straight up. Hiccup had been there for nearly half an hour, and the blood pressure built up in his head was getting really uncomfortable. He'd just started to doze off when he heard a twig snap. His eyes flew open. Were the Socktrolls back? He looked behind him, and everything was upside down and out of focus, but he could still see what it was.

"Gobber!" Hiccup yelled.

Gobber nearly jumped out of his undies. "Beard of Thor! Hiccup, what are you doin' up there?"

Hiccup looked at Gobber. Was he seriously asking that? "Um, I got caught in a dragon trap."

Gobber sighed.

"Can you help me? Please?" Hiccup's head felt like it was going to explode.

"Don't you worry, Hiccup," said Gobber cheerfully. "I'll get ya down." He released the trap, and Hiccup came plummeting down. "AAAAGH…OOF!" Hiccup landed flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. Gobber came over and hauled the boy to his feet. Hiccup swayed and shook his head to clear it as the blood rushed out and his face returned to its normal pale shade.

"Now then," said Gobber, "what were ya doin' all the way out here, eh?"

"I found a Socktroll!" Hiccup replied enthusiastically.

"Oh?" Gobber had always believed in trolls himself. "You found a troll, did you? Did ya get a good look at 'im?"

"Not a troll," said Hiccup, exasperated. "A Socktroll."

"Ah." Gobber, like everyone else, did not believe in Hiccup's "imaginary dragon". "Your father wants you, Hiccup. You'd better be gettin' home."  
Hiccup sighed. For a second there, he thought someone actually believed him. He turned to go, but stepped on a sharp stick with his bare foot, and yelped.

Gobber turned around. "Hiccup, what in Thor's name happened to you now?"

"Nothing, I'm fine," Hiccup replied moodily. He pulled the end of the stick out of his foot, and it began bleeding, but he hardly noticed. Now he was mad. "The next time I see that Socktroll," he muttered under his breath, "he's dead meat."

* * *

Hiccup found his father at the docks. "Hey, Dad."

Stoick turned to face his son. "Where have you been all day, Hiccup? Oswald the Agreeable, Chief of the Berserker Tribe, is coming for a visit with his son." Hiccup's face brightened. "Can I trust you, just for one day, not to make a mess out of Berk?"

"Just as long as I can go crazy the day after that," Hiccup grinned.

Stoick sighed and started towards the village to oversee the preparations, and Hiccup gave a celebratory jump and ran home.

That night as he was lying in bed, he couldn't stop thinking about the boy that was coming. He wouldn't have any preconceived ideas about how weird Hiccup was. This might be his chance to finally have a friend! Sure, it would only be for a day, but it would be the best day of his life.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Shout-outs! Again, thank you to all those who reviewed, followed, favorited, and just plain read this! You're awesome!**

 **SharKohen: Thanks! Yeah, poor Hiccup is right. I doubt if I've ever seen any other character be so abused by fanfiction authors. XD**

 **JEM48893: Well, here's the next update! :) Thank you for reading!**

* * *

Stoick, Gobber, Hiccup, Spitelout, and a group of Berkian warriors stood at the docks, ready to welcome the Berserkers. The sun was rising, and the Berserker ship had just been spotted on the horizon. Hiccup could barely contain himself as he waited for the ship to pull alongside the dock. Any minute now, he'd have a friend.

Soon the ship arrived, and Oswald the Agreeable walked down the gangplank, followed by an unusually strong red-haired boy who looked like he was probably 13 years old. Hiccup's eyes widened and his smile faded. Was this the "kid" that he was supposed to make friends with? _Well, I guess you could make friends with crazier things_ , he thought.

"This is my son, Dagur," Oswald was saying. "And Dagur, this is Hiccup. You two will be like… like brothers for the day!"

Dagur looked down at Hiccup and smiled, showing all his teeth. "Sweet!" he exclaimed.

Hiccup just stared.

"Hiccup," said Stoick, nudging him forward. Hiccup remembered his manners and shook hands with Oswald. "Why don't you take Dagur and show him around?"

Hiccup nodded and found his voice. "Um, right this way." He gestured awkwardly in the direction of the village.

"So," he said as they walked through the plaza, "That's Gothi's hut up there, and there's the blacksmith, and that's the Grea-"

"Yes, yes, very nice, brother," Dagur interrupted. "Now what do you do for fun?"

Hiccup hesitated. People usually laughed at what he did for fun, scribbling in notebooks, making tiny villages out of sticks and rocks, tinkering with little inventions. "Uh, well-"

Dagur shut him up again. "Ok, if you can't think of anything, then I have a game. Tagger!"

Hiccup looked at him blankly.

"It's where one person throws daggers at the other person, and if you get hit, you lose!"

"No kidding…" Hiccup took a step back. "Doesn't that sound a little danger-"

This time he was nearly literally cut off by a dagger, which narrowly missed his head and stuck quivering in the wall of a building behind him.

"I'M IT!" shrieked Dagur.

"Agh!" Hiccup ran straight for the Great Hall. He pushed the door open and darted inside. All the adults were out welcoming the Berserkers, and it was completely deserted. Hiccup's eyes scanned the room, looking for a place to hide. In a dark corner sat a small crate, just big enough for him to fit inside. He pulled it over himself just as Dagur burst in.

"Hiccup!" called the red-haired boy in a singsong voice. "Where are you, brother?" He grabbed a lit stick from the fire pit.

Hiccup shuddered. He was glad this psycho wasn't actually his brother. He held his breath. Dagur was getting closer to his hiding spot with every step he took.

"You can run…" Dagur saw a slight movement beneath the crate. "GOT YOU!" He ripped the crate off Hiccup, tossing it aside. Hiccup yelled and bolted for the door.

"I JUST DECIDED THAT TORCHES COUNT!" Dagur threw the torch at Hiccup, but it missed and set the floor on fire.

"Are you _crazy_?" Hiccup shouted over his shoulder and kept running, not waiting to hear Dagur's reply. He made his way to Gobber's blacksmith shop and ran around the back, jumping into a water barrel. It was halfway full of freezing water, and he immediately jumped back out again with a yelp.

A dagger stuck in the side of the barrel. "There you are, brother!"

How did this child have so many weapons? "We are NOT brothers!" Hiccup yelled as two more daggers whistled past his head. _Way too close_ , he thought, then promptly tripped and rolled down a hill. He picked himself up at the bottom. There was his father, still at the docks, engaged in friendly conversation with the Berserker chief. "DAD!" he shouted.

Dagur jumped in front of him, cutting off his path. "Ah-HA!"

Hiccup stumbled backward a few steps, then took off running again. He tried circling around to the docks, but Dagur was always in his way. This wasn't working. The chase had been going for about 10 minutes, daggers flying, smoke billowing from the Great Hall, frantic villagers running this way and that trying to put out the fire. Hiccup was running out of hiding places and breath, while Dagur was all the time pushing him farther away from the docks and closer to the forest.

 _The forest_ , Hiccup thought. _Dagur could get completely lost in there!_ He devised a plan to lure Dagur to the dragon trap Hiccup had gotten caught in the day before. He peeked out of his hiding place. Perfect. Dagur was looking the other way, giving Hiccup an opportunity for a head start, so he darted out of his hiding place.

Dagur looked up and saw Hiccup making a break for the forest, and chased after him. He had only one dagger left, and he was going to make it count.

Hiccup ran faster and faster towards the rope that triggered the trap. He just might get away! Jumping and landing on the other side, he looked behind only to see Dagur easily slide underneath. He'd seen the rope too.

Hiccup couldn't believe it. His plan had failed, and he was still being chased by this deranged kid. The tree that the trap hung from was enormous; maybe he could circle around it and confuse Dagur? It was worth a shot. He raced around the back of it and paused to catch his breath, placing a hand on the trunk to steady himself. But his hand just went right through. There was a small hole in the tree, and it looked like it might be just big enough for Hiccup to fit through. Well, he still had nothing to lose, so squeezed his head and shoulders through. Yes! This could work.

He pulled his still-bare foot through the opening just as Dagur came running around the tree. "WHERE ARE YOU, BROTHER?" he screamed, so loudly that Hiccup's ears rang. Dagur circled around the tree trunk a couple times, then headed deeper into the forest.

Hiccup let out his breath, which he'd been holding until his face turned purple. For the first time he took a good look around him. The hollow trunk was wide enough for him to spread his arms out without touching the walls, and the tree was rotted out for about 15 feet above him, with light filtering through a hole near the top.

Hiccup looked down. He was stepping on something soft, so he picked it up. "My boot?" he whispered in surprise. He tried to put it on, but there was something inside it. Reaching in, he pulled out three small, warm, slightly oblong rocks, identical in size. He put his boot on, and bent down to get a closer look at the ground. _There's a whole pile of Viking laundry in here!_ Every sock was stuffed with those weird warm rocks.

He was trying to get a better look when the tree got suddenly darker, as if something had just come in from the hole above, and there was a small, harsh cackle like that of a witch. Hiccup froze. He recognized that voice, and when he looked up, he recognized that face, too, with the little red lightning bolt on its forehead. The angry mother Socktroll slowly crawled down the wall of its nest towards the intruding boy. It wasn't until now, when the creature was so close that Hiccup could break its neck, that he realized just how terrified of it he was. The Socktroll sprayed its gas, filling the entire tree trunk, and Hiccup tried to cover his eyes, but it was too late. Everything went black. He gave an involuntary shriek. You never really get used to suddenly going blind.

Hiccup groped around for the exit, found it, and squeezed through, but he could feel something tugging at his boot. He fell out of the tree into a patch of moss. Once again, the Socktroll had claimed his left boot, and he could still hear it cackling in the nest behind him.

As Hiccup sat at the foot of the tree, his vision began return, and he heard a yell of triumph. "There you are, brother! You're not getting away this time!" The blurry redhead figure made a quick motion, and something shiny and sharp whizzed toward Hiccup. He put up his arm to block his face, but Dagur had made his last dagger count. It sliced a deep gash in Hiccup's arm, from his elbow all the way to his shoulder.

Dagur fist bumped the air and whooped, but Hiccup let out a cry of pain, and tears began to stream down his face. "MY ARM'S GONE!" he cried hysterically. He didn't really know what had happened.

Dagur cut his celebration short and stared at Hiccup as if he was just now realizing what the consequences of his game were. He ran over and dropped to his knees beside the sobbing younger boy. "Oh," he said as he saw the blood gush from Hiccup's arm. "Here, let's get you back to the village."

Hiccup kept crying. "My arm is bleeding!" Even through the Socktroll's gas and the tears in his eyes, he could see that much.

"Yeah," said Dagur, and he grabbed Hiccup's bare foot and dragged him through the forest, Hiccup protesting louder and louder the faster they went. When they reached the edge of the woods, Dagur could see the outlines of the houses, though it was hard to tell because of all the smoke. He dropped Hiccup's leg, and Hiccup tried to get up and head for the village, but Dagur picked him up and put Hiccup's good arm on his shoulder.

Hiccup quickly pulled it away and began squirming. "Put me down! It's not like I'm missing one of my _legs_!"

But Dagur ignored him, and in this way the two boys found Stoick, Gobber, and Oswald, who were finishing off the fire. On seeing his son so badly injured, Stoick dropped his water bucket and rushed Hiccup to Gothi's hut.

* * *

Several minutes later, the smoke had cleared somewhat, Hiccup had calmed down and was holding a cloth on his arm, and Gothi was scribbling in the dirt. Gobber translated, "She says that his arm just needs to be dislocated and-" Gothi's staff gave him a hard whack on the head. "Sorry, _disinfected_. His arm just needs to be disinfected, bandaged, and he'll be good to go," Gobber finished cheerfully.

Stoick let out a sigh of relief. "Now," he said sternly, turning to Dagur and Hiccup, "do either of you want to tell me how in Thor's name this happened?"

Hiccup began, "Well, actually, Dag-" but he was interrupted by the older boy.

"Hiccup and I were playing and he fell on a sharp stick. I was so worried, I carried him all the way back." He put on his best concerned face and rubbed his arms as if his muscles were sore.

"What...I...it...but you..." Hiccup spluttered in disbelief, but Dagur shot him a threatening glance, so he just mumbled, "Yeah, sure, a stick."

Stoick grunted as if he didn't completely believe it. Which he didn't. "And what about the Great Hall?" he demanded.

"Hiccup knocked a torch off the wall when he was showing me around, but I'm sure it was only an accident."

"You threw the torch at my head!" Hiccup blurted out, and immediately regretted it.

Stoick looked at Dagur, who tried to cover his guilt and shock with an innocent grin, then at Oswald, whose shock was apparent. "Is this true, son?" he asked Hiccup.

Hiccup looked nervously at Dagur, then back at his father. He gave a slow, small nod. Stoick was at a loss for words.

Oswald was first to break the silence. "I suppose boys will be boys," he said. "I'm sorry for the destruction of your Great Hall, I will gather my men to help rebuild it. Come, Dagur." The red-haired boy looked smug and got up to follow his father.

"Thank you for you kind offer," said Stoick gratefully. "We will appreciate the help. But may I do as I see fit with these two troublemakers?"

Oswald agreed to this, and went to gather his men to begin rebuilding the Great Hall, and Gobber left to do the same with the Berkians.

Now Stoick turned to Dagur, who cowered under his glare. Hiccup remembered all the stories he'd ever heard about his father's daring exploits, and believed them all right then and there. Stoick grabbed Dagur by the arm, led him down behind Gothi's woodpile, and gave him what he should have gotten a long time ago.

Hiccup was left alone with Gothi, who hobbled around gathering bandages and salves. They both heard several loud smacks followed by the sound of Dagur protesting at the top of his lungs, and Gothi paused to smile a tiny bit maliciously before she continued bandaging Hiccup's arm.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thanks for all the reads and reviews, everyone! :D Last chapter! I made myself laugh several times while writing this. XD**

 **midnightsky0612: Well, he sure hasn't been through Valhalla. :P**

* * *

"And then the dragons attacked the Great Hall the night after we finished it." Hiccup finished his story and looked up.

" I remember that," said Ruffnut. "Tuff and I sat on our roof and watched it burn down."

"Yeah," said Tuffnut. "it was like having two Snoggletogs that year. It was glorious." The twins sighed simultaneously at the memory, identical dopey grins on their faces.

"Anyway," said Snotlout, "what about the cut on your foot? I bet that left a good scar."

Hiccup stared at him. "That was my left foot."

"Yeah, so? ...oh."

"So what about the fake dragon?" asked Astrid. "Did you ever see it again?"

"It's not a fake dragon!" said Hiccup. "And no, I never saw it again. I went back to look for it a week later, but it moved its nest. I've gone looking for it twice since we made peace with the dragons."

"Um, Hiccup?" said Fishlegs. "I really don't want to doubt you, but a dragon like that has never been mentioned in the Dragon Manual, Bork's papers, or anywhere else."

"Really, Fishlegs?" said Hiccup. "I thought you of all people would be the one to back me up. Maybe it's a new species!"

"Hiccup, I've read practically every book there is on dragons, and none of them, I repeat NONE of them have ever mentioned anything that sounded even remotely like that. Don't you think if they lived right here on Berk, someone would have seen one?"

Hiccup was about to say something back, but Astrid cut in. "Well, Hiccup, what would you do if you did meet the Socktroll again? Hypothetically speaking."

Hiccup shrugged. "Eh, I'd probably try to learn more about it, maybe train it. And I am going to find it again."

Snotlout stretched. "It made for a a good story, anyway."

"Yeah," said Tuff. "It was so good it made my feet cold. Like, actually cold. Except, only my left foot. What's up with that?"

"Uh, maybe because your left shoe and sock are gone," said his sister.

Everyone looked down, and sure enough, Tuff's left foot was bare. Hiccup looked around the room suspiciously, and then he heard it. They all did. It sounded like a raspy, cackling witch.

"Hiccup? What was that?" said Astrid.  
"The Socktroll!" Hiccup replied, leaping up from his seat and peering into the dark corners of the Great Hall. "Come on, guys, help me look!"

"Ha ha, nice try, Hiccup," said Tuffnut.

"Yeah," said Snotlout, but he looked a little nervous.

"This is why we do the pranks around here, not you," said Ruff. She banged helmets with her twin, and Astrid and Fishlegs chuckled politely.

But Hiccup wasn't paying attention to them. He'd seen the dark purple and red streak flash out the door, and his friends and Toothless heard the door creak and turned around just in time to see Hiccup rush out the door, shouting, "THIS ISN'T OVER, DEAD MEAT!"

* * *

 **Book of Dragons page! (photo on cover)  
**

 **Socktroll**

Mystery Class

This sneaky little dragon is smaller than a Terrible Terror, and hiding is what it does best. Sightings are extremely rare.

It has the ability to spray a gas that will temporarily blind both humans and dragons for thirty seconds. To protect its own eyes, it has a clear second eyelid it can shut when it sprays.

Socktrolls got their name because they wrap their eggs in fabric to keep them warm, and they are especially attracted to the pungent odor of Viking socks.

Coloring is dark purple-black with metallic wings and forehead markings that vary in shape and color, which they use for identification.

Although they have wings, they are flightless, and can only glide short distances. They are very fast runners and are good at climbing.

Socktrolls often stand on their hind legs. It is unknown why.


End file.
